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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28885077">Modern Living</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/alfredo_baby/pseuds/alfredo_baby'>alfredo_baby</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>City Life - Fandom, Modern - Fandom, Modern Love - Fandom, Original Work, Realism - Fandom, Realistic - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BDSM, Building Friendships, F/M, Feelings Realization, Love, Love Triangle, M/M, Modern, Modern Life, Multi, Ominous, Post-Break Up, Realistic, Sex, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Three Guys, Trauma, Trust, Unrequited Love, Unwanted Encounters, best friend - Freeform, city, city life, one girl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:22:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,500</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28885077</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/alfredo_baby/pseuds/alfredo_baby</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A modern love story about a girl who moves from Illinois to New York for her job. She finds a beautiful apartment fifteen minutes from work, only three men are already living there. Everett, Michi, and Moshe are as different from one another as any three people can be. Jane tries her best to live day by day, dealing with the trauma she's running away from. Will that darkness follow her? Can she continue to frequent her safe place without the men she's living with finding out? Awkward moments, new friends, and shocking romances are not in short supply.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Modern Living</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Like most things that end up being important, we don’t realize they’re important until after the fact. My life was simple. Textbook. Somehow I graduated college and managed to land a job in an editing firm. I was finally in a place where I could financially handle living on my own. Or I thought I was. The funny thing about modern day living is that apartments are expensive no matter how old you are. I felt sick standing on the street in front of the building listed in the ad. It was fifteen minutes from my job by bike, and in New York, that was a dream come true. I checked the address I wrote down on the bottom corner of the ad and debated telling Lila I changed my mind. </p><p>“Hello!” A voice chirped happily behind me. I jumped, slightly spooked, then turned to see a guy my height. He had curly brown hair and a big smile. I swallowed. </p><p>“Hi.” I mumbled, not sure how to take his sunny disposition. </p><p>“Are you going in?” I hesitated, but he didn’t wait for an answer. “Oh! That’s our ad!” He pointed to the obviously yellow paper in my hand. </p><p>“This is yours?” No way. I thought- </p><p>“Yep! Come on up, I’ll introduce you.” I didn’t have time to protest as he pulled me up the walkway. “There’s a code on the door, so make sure you know it before you leave or someone will have to buzz you in.” I focused on not tripping on the door frame. I couldn’t understand how someone with the same length legs could still be so much faster. “They’re going to be so excited! We had a few people come by but none were a good fit.” His voice echoed a bit in the entryway as he led me to the elevator. I tried not to throw up. I really did. My hands shook and I knew he could tell how sweaty they were because he was holding my hand which I wasn’t sure how appropriate that was, but then we were off the elevator and in front of apartment 3B. My internal rant seemed to silence itself as he pulled out the key to the door. </p><p>“U-uhm,” I started to tell him I changed my mind when he opened the door and ushered me inside. My breath caught when I saw the wall of windows facing out over the city. Modern wasn’t my style, but even I could appreciate the clean and beautiful apartment I was standing in. </p><p>“Moshe? Did you grab my ice cream? Please tell me you didn’t forget it again.” I watched as a tall, long haired man strode toward us. “Oh, uh, hello? Moshe, did you bring home a new friend again?” </p><p>“Nope! She’s here for the ad.” Moshe, now that I knew his name, pulled me to the couch and had me sit. “Is Michi here?” The long haired guy nodded absently, not quite understanding what was going on. That made two of us. He crossed his arms, shifted his feet, then stalked over and held out his hand. </p><p>“Everett.” I took it, still sitting. Should I stand? </p><p>“Jane.” </p><p>“She answered the ad?” I craned my neck to see over the back of the couch. There was another guy, possibly Michi. He wore one of those stylish circle hats and had golden eyes. Pretty. </p><p>“Yeah, well, no. I found her outside.” The three of them ended up standing in front of me. Moshe grinned with his hands on his hips, seemingly proud. He was the shortest and seemed even smaller in his oversized crewneck. Eugene crossed his arms and regarded me carefully. I tried not to stare at his facial hair, or his scarf, or his leather boots. Michi stood in a relaxed yet intimidating way. He was dressed in business casual clothes, and I liked the all black. </p><p>“How did you find the ad?” Everett began. I cleared my throat and repeated what Lila told me. <em>Act like it’s an interview. </em></p><p>“I saw it in the paper in Illinois. The building is fifteen minutes from my job, and it’s perfect for my budget.” </p><p>“Living with three guys doesn’t bother you?” Michi drolled. </p><p>“Honestly, I thought you were women from the ad.” I confessed, rubbing my hands on my pants. “But I have nothing against you being men. As long as we can respect boundaries I’m fine with it.” I watched them exchange glances, then they fixed their gaze on me again. </p><p>“Give us a moment?” Moshe shot a glare at Everett, but didn’t argue. Michi looked like he didn’t care either way. I nodded. </p><p>“Of course.” They disappeared into one of the rooms, leaving me alone. It allowed me to finally get a chance to look around freely. There was a beautiful kitchen to my right. White cabinets, dark counters, backsplash, and a cute kitchen island. The other side was mostly bedrooms. The ad said there were two bathrooms. One for the master, one for the rest of us. I counted four rooms. Four? Then where would I- Oh. My eyes followed a staircase up and up to a loft. There were three rooms and a loft. A small part of me hoped it would be mine. The door clicked as the three of them exited one of the rooms and I sat up straighter. Moshe flashed me a big smile. </p><p>“You’re in!” </p><p>***</p><p>“And how are you adjusting?” Ms. Jenning asked sweetly. </p><p>“Well enough, I suppose. Moshe is sweet. Everett seems to be a little guarded with me, but Michi doesn’t seem to even notice I’m there.” I saw her shake her head on the screen. Ms. Jenning was my therapist from back home, and I asked if we could keep our sessions despite the distance. </p><p>“You need to learn more about them. You can’t just coexist with them and never get to know who they are, Jane.” She was right, but I didn’t handle socialization well. There was only one place I felt comfortable being myself, and even there nobody knew my real name. </p><p>“I want to find a new secret garden.” I confessed carefully. Ms. Jenning didn’t even blink. </p><p>“I don’t see that as something unhealthy. It is teaching you how to interact with people, even if the topics are limited.” She paused. “Plus, once you start learning how to trust again, that can bleed over into any relationship.” I buried the memories before they came. </p><p>“I have to go or I will be late to work. I will video call next week.” Ms. Jenning nodded. </p><p>“Live happily, Jane.” She ended the call. I sighed, closing the case of my iPad. Progress comes in all sizes. I had already lived here for two weeks. The guys let me have the loft happily, each of them preferring the rooms they were in already. I stopped at the store and grabbed some simple black privacy screens. Since the loft was against the wall it had a built in closet, some shelving, and more than enough room for my bed, my desk, and my books. They had let me store my bike inside the living room so long as I agreed to set up a bike mount. I happily obliged. I stood, pushing my desk chair back and got ready for work. </p><p>“You hungry?” Moshe called from the kitchen. Whatever he was making smelled good. “Here, I made you a plate.” He slid it across the island. Get to know them, Ms. Jenning had said. I forced myself to sit on the stool. </p><p>“Do you always cook?” </p><p>“Yep!” He flipped a pancake easily. “I’m in culinary classes right now. I’m going to be a chef.” I took a bite and moaned at the explosion of flavor. These weren’t ordinary pancakes. </p><p>“What does Everett do?” I asked, shoveling as much as I could. Moshe smiled at my enthusiasm. </p><p>“He’s an oddball. He does everything, depending on what he wants at the time. Last month he was in California trying to land a sponsor for pro surfing. This month he’s working on sculpting.” I was taken aback, but only for a moment. Everett seemed like the athletic and naturally skilled type.</p><p>“And Michi?” I used a finger to get the last of the syrup, obviously homemade. </p><p>“He owns an all natural body works shop. He makes everything like, lotions, soaps, and face masks. He even sells ingredients for people to make their own. Lately he’s been adding trinkets and healing crystals.” I shouldn’t be surprised. Michi was definitely down to earth and very in touch with his spirituality. It made sense he would want to help others figure their own spiritual intrigues while also offering both physical and mental healing. </p><p>“I have to run. I’ll be home a little later today.” I didn’t explain why. Moshe didn’t mind. </p><p>“You know,” he mused, adding another fluffy cloud of perfection to the stack. “That’s the first time you called this place home.”  </p>
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